---
title: "Less Popular Apps Are 6x More Likely to Be Abandoned: Pixalate’s Q4 2022 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report"
description: In this blog, Pixalate highlights how much more likely popular mobile apps are to be updated compared to less popular apps across the Google Play and Apple App stores in 2022.
image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jQjM5bFUAdBFnPSHs4KvwptwPirOttC8aMWZxWCofXt5uPbAEZvW7ieVcgGVd7yusKyU-j6q14-ZYFAlwpFfklZf5ul0WyKZFvud5cBfuUtKu4ovtfi17sLWbFlASUneuryCilbYxG97DuCVPuMDDgs
---

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 2 min read

# Less Popular Apps Are 6x More Likely to Be Abandoned: Pixalate’s Q4 2022 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report

 Written by [Pixalate](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/pixalate)

 Feb 17, 2023 11:00:00 AM

Pixalate’s recent [Q4 2022 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report](https://www.pixalate.com/q4-2022-abandoned-apps-report-mobile) provides an in-depth analysis of abandoned apps across the Google and Apple app stores. “Abandoned” means the app has not received an update in over two years.

The report covered a wide range of data points, so we decided to break some of this information down further into individual blogs to highlight interesting findings.

**This post:** We highlight how much more likely popular mobile apps are to be updated compared to less popular apps across the Google Play and Apple App stores in 2022.

**Apps with 100+ million downloads are far more likely to stay updated**

In Q4 2022, 88% of mobile apps with more than 100MM downloads were up-to-date (most recent update within 6 months), compared to only 6% that were abandoned (2+ years since last update).

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jQjM5bFUAdBFnPSHs4KvwptwPirOttC8aMWZxWCofXt5uPbAEZvW7ieVcgGVd7yusKyU-j6q14-ZYFAlwpFfklZf5ul0WyKZFvud5cBfuUtKu4ovtfi17sLWbFlASUneuryCilbYxG97DuCVPuMDDgs)

Updated within the last 6 months:

- < 10k (26%)
- < 10k - 100k (31%)
- < 100k - 1MM (43%)
- < 1MM - 10MM (59%)
- < 10MM - 100MM (77%)
- < 100MM+ (88%)

Abandoned (not updated in 2+ years):

- < 10k (37%)
- < 10k - 100k (38%)
- < 100k - 1MM (31%)
- < 1MM - 10MM (20%)
- < 10MM - 100MM (9%)
- < 100MM+ (6%)

For more analysis of abandoned mobile apps, download a free copy of the report here:

[![Download the Report](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2364596/71ca0378-dd3d-4d96-aa8a-2de24aa6fa37.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2364596/71ca0378-dd3d-4d96-aa8a-2de24aa6fa37)

*If you are interested in more insights like the above, across desktop, mobile and CTV devices,  please reach out to us using this* [*contact form*](https://www.pixalate.com/scheduledemo)*.*

**Disclaimer**

*The content of this post, and the Q4 2022 Abandoned Mobile Apps Report (the "**Report**"), reflect Pixalate’s opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. Any data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees. It should be noted that the mere fact an app does not appear to have been updated in a certain period of time does not necessarily mean that such app's publisher has abandoned the app, or is otherwise violating any policy, best practice, or regulation. Instead, we are merely noting the apparent inactivity and rendering an opinion that this apparent absence of updates may be suggestive of heightened risks to end users and other data subjects. Pixalate is sharing this data not to impugn the standing or reputation of any entity, person or app, but, instead, to render opinions and report trends pertaining to apps available for download via the official Apple App Store and Google Play Store.*

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# Disclaimer

 Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees.

 Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. Among the reasons why ad traffic may be deemed invalid is it is a result of non-human traffic (spiders, bots, etc.), or activity designed to produce fraudulent traffic.”

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